Age: 'Tis Only A Number
by MerlinWeasley
Summary: Jade worked hard and never gave up. That's how she got to where she was. And still people treated her like a child. One day, Jade would prove them all wrong. Now, working in the BAU, Jade has found her chance. This is the stroy of Jade Hotchner. Reid/OC
1. Chapter One: Introduction

**Chapter One: Introduction**

The team gathered around in the bullpen, waiting for the details on their new case. JJ and Hotchner stood under their gaze, eyeing each one in return. There were eight people in the room: Jennifer "JJ" Jareau, the team's spokesperson; Aaron Hotchner "Hotch," the team leader; Emily Prentiss, the newest addition to the team (though that was some time ago); Derek Morgan, a muscled black man; Spencer Reid, the youngest on the team (and also the smartest); and David Rossi, one of the greatest and most successful profilers ever.

"So, JJ, Hotch, you two gonna tell us what's up?" Derek Morgan leaned forward in his chair, elbows resting on his knees as he folded his hands.

"Well, as you all may have heard," JJ began. "There was a lot of talk about a new member – one who hasn't graduated from training, yet." JJ opened her mouth to speak again, but was quickly cut off by Reid.

"What? I haven't heard anything about this. Did any of you hear about this?" Spencer Reid turned to his associates, who looked slightly guilty. "Why don't you guys ever tell me stuff like this?"

"Because, _you_, my little pretty, refuse to go and get drinks with us!"

The group turned to see an overweight woman with dyed red hair standing in the door way.

"Ah, Penelope Garcia," Morgan smiled at the woman. "What are you doing here, Baby Girl?"

"Oh, Derek, you flatter me! But the man for me at this moment in time is Hotch! You have to love the leader," Garcia winked at Morgan, who simply rolled his eyes.

"But I really do need you, Hotch. You have a visitor. She's really pretty, too. Any idea on who she is?" Garcia walked into the room, grabbed Hotch and dragged him out into the hall, closing the door to the bullpen before the others could see out of it.

"Garcia, you can let go of me, now." Hotch attempted to get the brilliant woman off of his arm (and successfully change the subject), but it took him several moments before he was released. This, of course, gave Garcia several moments to remember what they were talking about.

"You never answered me. Who is she? She looks really familiar but I can't tell from where," Garcia led the way back into her own office filled with computers. She opened the door to reveal a girl – twenty at the most – dressed in a blue shirt, a black jacket, dark blue jeans that flared at the bottom, and a simple pair of blue converse. She pulled off the innocent teenager look, but any glance at her dark brown eyes would tell you that she had many hidden secrets. This was the part that greatly bothered Garcia.

Hotch smiled at the young woman, who immediately pulled him into a hug. Garcia stepped to the side, silently staring at the two. This girl was _really_ familiar, but she still couldn't think of where she had seen her. Hotch turned back to Garcia, an arm resting lightly on the young girl's shoulders.

"Garcia, I'd like you to meet Jade. She's my niece."

**In the Bullpen after Hotch Leaves**

"Well, that was weird," Emily noted as she glanced from the door to her friends.

"Yeah, Hotch hardly ever has visitors." Spencer leaned back in his chair, taking a slightly more relaxed position.

"As I was saying," JJ caught their attention, "there will be a new member. She will –"

"So, it's a she? The same she that's here to visit Hotch?" Morgan looked back at the door (part of him hoping that it had opened and he could see the new member).

"Yes, more than likely, it is her. Now, please stop interrupting until I've finished. She hasn't graduated yet. She's still in college, but she's the second best. The top five people in her class get to work with an actual profiler's team. This was the one that she got. So, she won't have experience, but from what I've read about her files she's really smart and very quick witted. Now, any more questions?"

JJ looked at all of her friends, silently gaging their reactions. They were all quiet. Morgan looked thrilled at a new member; Rossi looked bored (he had already been informed of the situation); Emily looked like she didn't really like the idea; and Spencer was frowning (JJ knew this meant he was thinking hard).

Finally, after several silent moments, Reid broke the silence.

"What's her name?"

JJ jumped slightly, the noise sounding foreign.

"Jade. Her name is Jade Hotchner."


	2. Chapter Two: Jade Meets The Team

**AN: I'm sorry to those who've been wanting to read this. I lost everything that I had on it and couldn't remember exactly what I wanted to come of this story. I figured that no one really cared, so why continue? But I've decided otherwise and am now attempting to write this story. Thanks to those who've favorited and followed and reviewed. I'll try to update this some more.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.**

"You're telling me that someone related to Hotch is gonna be working with us?" Derek Morgan looked up at JJ, a light frown on his face. "I thought family members couldn't be on the same team?"

"They're not supposed to be," Reid replied, frowning as well.

"It's a special case - she won the right to be here, thanks to her studying hard and performing well in class," Rossi spoke. He nodded to JJ, telling her to take over.

"She, originally, wasn't supposed to come to this team, thanks to Hotch being on it. But she was out sick when they assigned the teams and we were the last one left available the next day." JJ explained to the team, who all nodded, deep in thought.

"When do we get to meet her," Emily questioned.

The door opened behind them, and Hotch's voice split through the silent air: "Now."

The team looked up, each staring at the girl beside Hotch. Emily managed to blink, knowing it was inappropriate to stare at someone.

The profilers in the room locked on to her hands: one was fidgiting with the necklace around her neck (Spencer noted that it was a miniature TARDIS from Doctor Who) and the other was shoved deeply into her front pocket, as if she were clutching something.

"Team, this is Jade," Hotch spoke. "Jade, this is my team."

Jade gave a small smile, "Hello."

**Jade's POV**

I was very nervous, and I knew that they could tell - but, to be honest, I didn't quite care. It was natural to be nervous.

"Team," Uncle Hotch began, "This is Jade. Jade, this is my team."

I managed a small smile. "Hello."

The room almost instantly became full of life.

"Welcome to the club, Jade," a black man smirked. I could tell that I was going to like him.

"It's nice to see you again," Rossi smiled at me. He had been there when I spoke to Uncle Aaron about being on the team.

"Hi, I'm Jennifer. Feel free to call me JJ - all of my friends do." The blonde woman smiled at me, giving a wave. I returned it.

"Nice to meet you, JJ."

"I'm Emily Prentiss," The girl with black hair smiled politely. I nodded, smiling. I wasn't as nervous as I had been.

"Derek Morgan." The black man held his hand out for me to shake, which I did so.

"Hi," the last person in the room said, somewhat awkwardly. "I'm Dr. Spencer Reid. I like your necklace. The TARDIS."

I instantly beamed. If me and this guy didn't get along, I was going to be greatly upset.

"Thanks. It's my good luck charm." We exchanged a smile before Uncle Aaron's phone went off.

The room instantly became quiet as he excused himself from the room, his face deadly serious.

"So, you're the second in your class and related to Hotch," Derek asked.

"Er, yeah."

"How are you two related," Emily questioned.

"I'm his niece."

"I feel bad for you," Rossi smiled, proving that he was joking.

"You're not the first to tell me that," I grinned.

"So, you're Sean's daughter?"

I frowned. "Yes."

I knew they could tell something was wrong - I hadn't exactly bothered to hide it. But I didn't quite care. They'd find out eventually.

The door opened and Uncle Aaron walked in again, placing his phone into his pocket.

"Who was it?"

"Haley."

The team ended up splitting up, going to their different desks.

Uncle Aaron and I stayed behind for a bit longer than the others.

"Are you ready for this?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"No, I suppose you don't."

**Third Person POV**

When Jade and Hotch left the room, Hotch instantly walked over to Rossi, who was grabbing papers from a fax machine with a strange look on his face. Jade instantly recognized that the man was thinking and, by the looks of it, reading something he'd rather not.

"You got something," Hotch asked once he was close to Rossi.

"I'm not sure. It's an old storage unit."

Spencer looked up from his desk, focusing on Rossi's words. Jade, too, was focused on the older man speak.

"An agent from the Philli Field Office sent it to me." Rossi handed over the papers to Hotch. Spencer rose from his seat, moving to go towards the two men. Jade stood firmly in place, unsure of what to do.

Was this going to be her first case?

"Somebody you know?" Hotch asked, looking down at the papers.

"She knows me, you know," Rossi replied, slightly unsure.

"Ah. A fan. It's a very crowded place, isn't it?"

"You'd be surprised."

"This is detailed," Hotch commented, looking through the papers. Jade walked forward slightly, hoping to get a quick look at what Hotch held - but he shifted his weight, moving just enough to block her glance. Jade was sure it had been on purpose.

Spencer walked straight up to Hotch and leaned over his shoulder to see what Hotch was looking at. Hotch tilted the paper slightly, allowing Spencer to see it better.

"Future tense," Spencer noted. "These are fantasies."

"That agent thinks it could be more than that." Rossi's words instantly caught Hotch's attention, who looked up at him, his sharp eyes practically demanding for Rossi to continue.

"There's more of this?"

"A few boxes in the Field Office," Rossi breathed heavily. He didn't like this. "I'd like to drive up there; look at the rest of the material. We could judge them from that."

Hotch nodded, looked back at Spencer (who was still looking at the paper), then turned back to Rossi. "Take Reid with you. Oh, and Jade."

"Road trip, nice! I've got books on tape with Peter Coyote reading the entire Foundation Trilogy." Spencer practically ran back over to his desk to grab his things.

Rossi showed an exasperated expression to Jade as he lightly shook his head and walked away. She silently followed after him, Spencer not far behind her.

Jade had one final thought before walking out of the building:

This is my first real case.


	3. Chapter Three: Jade's First Chance

**Chapter Three: Jade's First Chance**

The ride to their destination had been quite boring for Jade, who couldn't focus on Spencer's audio book or talk, thanks to said audio book. Instead, she messed with the little TARDIS around her neck, worrying if she would mess up out on the field - after all, this wasn't just a grade anymore (even though Hotch did have to give her a grade for each case that they did, according to her professor).

By the time that the three reached their destination, Jade found herself staring out the window, wondering if this job was meant for her. How many times as a child had she wanted to be like her Uncle Aaron? Saving the world from bad guys, helping innocent people - the whole thing? And now, as she got out of the car that would hold what may very well be her first case, Jade questioned it all.

_You do want this_, Jade thought to herself. _You've wanted this for ages. Don't count yourself out yet._

"You okay, Jade?" Rossi came to stand beside her.

"I'm fine," she replied, smiling. She did her best to stop the traits that gave away her nerves: she didn't mess with her necklace, she kept her hands out of her pockets, and she didn't look away when talking.

"Good, we need to get in there."

Rossi walked away, leaving Spencer and Jade to follow like ducklings.

Many people spoke as the three walked into the room. Most, Jade realized with a shock, were staring at Rossi. Spencer, too, noticed.

"How do you get use to the staring," the younger man questioned Rossi. "I feel like I perpetually have something stuck in my teeth."

Jade gave a small laugh, but stopped when Spencer and a few people looked at her.

"You learn to ignore it," Rossi replied, walking past all the people that stared at the trio. Jade wished she could ignore them.

"-supposedly you." Jade caught the last bit of what a woman was saying as she followed Rossi and Spencer into an office, where the woman sat alone, talking on a headset. She noticed their arrival.

"Just - just get me that match." She jerked the headset away from her ear, setting it down on her desk. She walked around the desk, staring at Rossi.

"David Rossi in my office," she started, walking over to Rossi and holding out her hand for him to shake. She sounded like she'd just met the greatest person alive, even slightly out of breath. "Somebody pinch me."

Jade desperately wanted to.

"You must be Agent Morris." Rossi politely shook hands with her, but Jade detected that he'd rather have not done so. The woman, however, seemed thrilled.

"Jill, please. And can I get you anything? Coffee?"

"Actually, if you don't mind, I'd like for Doctor Reid, Jade and I to get to this." Reid nodded his head with a small smile. I gave a polite wave.

"Doctor Reid, Jade," Agent Jill Morris nodded to each of us, sounding as if she couldn't quite breathe.

"Thank you all for coming." She shot a quick glance back to Rossi. "You won't be disappointed."

"What other materials do you have?" Spencer questioned, eager to finish the job.

"We've found assorted art work: torture, porn, bondage. But what strikes me," she held up a finger, glancing yet again at Rossi, "is the prose."

She walked out of the room, nearly bumping into Jade, who glared behind her back. Rossi followed after the woman. Spencer put an awkward hand to Jade's shoulder, silently telling her to relax. Giving him a tiny smile, they, too, followed after Agent Morris.

"It screams of high order sexual predator. I think we're on to something big."

Jade didn't like the way the woman talked. It was... It was like she _wanted_ this to happen. If people were truly dead, as the reports claimed, then why would that woman be speaking in such a way?

_Because there's gain for her_, Jade thought to herself. _I'm not sure how... But it's there._

"Let's don't get ahead of ourselves." Rossi spoke, obviously picking up on the same vibe as Jade. "I assume you ran the name of whoever rented the unit?"

"Yeah, the name was fake." She picked up a clipboard and pen and began to look over something. "Louis Ivy. There's no records of such a person."

"Did he pay in cash," Spencer and Jade asked at the same time. They all looked at Jade, who bit her lip and looked down.

_Spencer asked, too,_ she thought. _Why only look at me?_

"Until he went into arrears," Jill spoke, bringing the attention back onto herself. She handed the clipboard to some guy and started walking away - the trio followed. "Six months without a payment, and the owner's allowed to auction its contents."

Jade couldn't help but notice two things. One: Jill liked being in the limelight. Two: This killer (if he/she even was one) sounded... professional. Like he kept everything in perfect order. Until now.

"What I've read so far suggests an orderly personality." Rossi spoke. "Not likely to miss payments."

Jade was a little proud of herself - she had come to the conclusion as well.

"Well he screwed up," Jill responded, opening a door. Rossi stood in the door way, Spencer just behind him. Jade could see nothing aside from Spencer's back. Sometimes she hated how short she was.

"They all do eventually, right?" Jill spoke again, sounding slightly proud.

Spencer moved to the side slightly, suddenly remembering that Jade was with them and would be unable to see. She smiled at him before looking at the room - there were eight boxes in the room that would need to be gone through.

"Maybe I will take that coffee," Rossi told Jill, slowly making his way into the room.

The three walked into the room and Jill shut the door behind them, leaving to do whatever it was that her job demanded of her.

Jade sighed as Rossi and Spencer each grabbed a box to go through. She grabbed her own - only for Rossi to stop her.

"Are you sure you should be going through this?"

"Is there something wrong with me helping?" Jade cocked her head to the side, waiting for Rossi's response.

"You haven't even graduated from college yet. These boxes hold -"

"The truth to whether or not this 'Louis Ivy' person is a killer or just into some pretty messed up things," Jade responded. "I know. I paid attention."

"Look, you're still young. Maybe you should sit back and watch."

"I'm young, too," Spencer spoke up. He knew only too well what it was like to be treated differently because of age.

"Just... Go over what she does. Jade, if you find anything, show it to me or Reid. Got it?"

Jade glared at Rossi.

"You know, I didn't get this far just because of Uncle Aaron. I didn't get a part of this team because of him. I worked. Hard. I paid attention in my class, and got second best."

"But that's not the best."

"Well sorry that I don't please you. If you'd like, I'll go sit in the corner and do nothing," Jade glared, her voice dripping with emotion.

"You're truthful - I like it," Rossi smirked. "Now, are you going to go through that box or not?"

Jade stared, open-mouthed.

_Did he do that just to see how I'd react?_


	4. Chapter Four: What The Boxes Hold

**Chapter Four: What The Boxes Hold**

Jade officially felt disturbed, and even slightly violated as she read one of the papers that was in her box. The paper (graph paper, she noted) had the heading "RAPE KIT." Under that, the guy had written "ESSENTIALS-" and then proceeded to list several things, such as bindings, a neck hold (like a dog collar), a knife ("to complete the action"), a pipe, etc.

At the bottom of the page, the man had drew a woman, shown from the top of her ribcage and up. She was clothed in only a bra and was being strangled from behind, though it only showed a hand and arm, which stopped at the shoulder. The man had also drawn a tactical knife. Jade was fairly certain that particular knife was used "to complete the action."

It sent a chill down Jade's spine. She felt as though she were being watched - glancing up, she realized that she was. Rossi was looking at her and the paper, going back and forth slowly.

"Is there any particular reason you're staring at me and the paper?"

"You seem calm for someone who's doing this for their first time."

"I... I'd say I know how to deal with stuff like this - but there's no way. Rossi, I think this _is_ a serial killer. If not, a serial rapist. This stuff... It's far too detailed for someone who just wants to roleplay or watch porn. This is real."

He gave a small smile, despite the seriousness of her words. "That's how you know you're as close to ready as you can get, kid."

"Rossi, can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead," he replied, taking the paper from Jade to look at it better. Spencer was already on his second box on the other side of the room.

"Do you think I'm only here because of my uncle?"

"At first? Yes. Now? Maybe."

Jade huffed in annoyance. "Let me guess - I'm also too young?"

"No."

"No?" Jade hadn't heard that as a response to that question before. She liked it.

"Spencer - he's 24. Joined when he was 22. Sometimes young isn't so bad."

"But everything I do or say is going to be double checked."

"Of course."

Jade nodded, not as bothered by this information as she thought she would be.

"Spencer, have you found anything," Rossi called to him.

"It's just the same things - obsession for bondage and rape and clear instructions on how to do it. He liked to experiment. He also has quite the number of bondage porn magazines."

"And you're looking at porn with us in the room," Jade questioned, one of her eyebrows shooting up.

Spencer looked embarassed. "Not like that," he quickly replied. Before Jade could embarrass him more, Rossi caught her attention.

"Jade," Rossi looked at her. "Tell me, what do you think of this UNSUB so far?"

Jade had to think for a moment about what UNSUB meant. _Unknown Subject._

"Well, there's no doubt it's a male."

"Just because the drawings are of women?"

"No. The brutatlity, the women, the writing - not to mention that rape is nearly always a male with a female victim."

"And what do you think about this man?"

"He's... Careful. He paid in cash, used a fake name, kept the unit paid for - he's organized, to say the least."

"So, why is he suddenly in debt?"

"Well, that can be for several different reasons. But... A lot of killers like the fame. Maybe... He let this be found. He wants the world to know he's there." Jade looked at Rossi, dead on, trying not to waver.

"Interesting theory," Rossi replied, looking through more papers. "Anything else you want to add?"

"He loves this. It's past obsession. There are times in his writing," Jade reached out and grabbed a piece of paper with her blue-gloved hand and held it out for Rossi to see. "He breaks through the paper, he's become so excited. He loves this more than life itself."

Rossi gave Jade a look, but nodded.

She saw Spencer nod, too, at what she had said. Had they thought the same as her?

The three continued to search. Every now and then, Spencer or Jade would show Rossi something that they thought was important. This continued on for several hours, the three of them sitting in near silence as they shifted through paper after paper, magazine after magazine (which Jade was glad that she didn't have), and picture after picture of victims (which Jade had too many for her liking).

Finally, they finished.

"I'll go talk to Agent Morris," Rossi told them, standing up. He took off his gloves and left the room, leaving Spencer and Jade alone.


	5. Chapter Five: Bonding Over Doctors

**Chapter Five: Bonding Over Doctors**

"Does Rossi react that way to everyone," Jade questioned Spencer, her eyes firmly glued to the door which Rossi had left out of.

"What way?"

"Like... It's almost like he thinks he's better than everyone, yet at the same time... Like he knows that he's no where close. He makes you question yourself, because of it, and makes you work harder to prove yourself."

"That's normal for him."

"Lovely. So, you're a doctor?" Jade turned to look at Spencer, who was looking nervously down at a piece of paper. Jade frowned. He had looked at that paper at least three times since Jade and Spencer had told Rossi that there was nothing else to go through - not that Jade was watching Spencer, of course.

"Not medically," he responded, his gaze still down. Jade was sure he only had it there as a prop, in case he got too awkward.

"Well, how about of the Time Lord design?" Jade's voice was light and teasing - it managed to relax Spencer some.

"No, I'm just a human. By the way, did you know that the Doctor is half-human on -"

"His mother's side."

Spencer snapped his head to stare in slight shock at the woman before him, clearly not expecting her to have known.

"I watched the TV-movie, too. The Eighth Doctor was brilliant - too bad the writing wasn't." Jade's eyes held a twinkle that, unknown to Spencer, meant a few things. One was that she was talking about something she truly cared about. Despite not knowing, Spencer decided he liked the twinkle in her eyes - it was nice to see such things after having gone through the horrid contents of those boxes.

"Who's your favorite Doctor, from the past three?" Spencer leaned back against the table, not feeling quite as awkward as he had before.

"So, out of Eighth, Ninth and Tenth?"

"Yes."

"Totally Tenth! He's actually my favorite out of all of them," Jade admitted, her right hand going up to grasp at her TARDIS necklace. "I just love the way he rambles on and goes off script."

"He's definately a great Doctor," Spencer agreed.

"Who's your favorite?"

"Out of the past three? I'd say Eighth."

"The Doctor with that horrible writing," Jade remarked, a small smile still on her face. The twinkling in her eyes had yet to dim.

"It was pretty bad, wasn't it?" Spencer smiled at her, happy to actually be able to talk to a teammate (let alone a pretty one) about one of his 'nerd' things.

"Pretty bad? Oh, it was way worse than that! But he was so _great_. I loved him to death. I wish they'd have given him a shot. He only ever had a few audio books and the movie. Then again, the movie wasn't _so_ bad."

"It was nothing but error after error," Spencer remarked.

"Seriously! I mean, hello? Half-human on his mother's side? It's totally cannon now, and it so shouldn't be. And did you _see_ the Master?" Jade rolled her twinkling eyes, laughing at the memory of the Master. The door opened, silently, behind them. Neither noticed.

"The Master really wasn't at his best," Spencer agreed with a small chuckle.

Rossi stared at the two, unsure. It was different for Spencer to be able to laugh and talk openly with someone he had just met without looking very awkward. In fact, if Rossi looked for any signs of awkwardness in the room, there weren't any. The two were perfectly relaxed.

"Who was your first Doctor?"

"My first Doctor was Sylvester McCoy. The Seventh Doctor." Spencer smiled from the memory. That had been a good day, when things were going just right.

"I remember him! He wasn't too bad, but certainly not in my top three."

"Well, who was your first?"

"Christopher Eccleston - the Ninth." Jade beamed, as if this was truly the most amazing thing ever heard.

"Really?"

"Yeah. My mom's super scared of aliens and ghosts and such, so I wasn't allowed to watch it for a while."

"Just because of aliens?"

"Yeah. Stupid, right?"

"Actually, Xenophobia's not as uncommon as you'd think," Spencer replied. Rossi was waiting for the rest of the statistic - but it never came. Jade had already interupted, which, Rossi noticed, seemed to surprise Spencer.

"I know it's not uncommon. But she's so horrified of them, she can't look at anything to do with them. She went into hysterics for weeks when a neighbor gave me a Marvin the Martian toy when I was five."

"That is a fairly extreme case."

"You know, I finally got her to watch it with me one day - Doctor Who, I mean. She was willing to watch it because she thought David Tennant was cute. Well... It also happened to star the Weeping Angels. She has a little statue angel in her room. She threw a _huge_ fit and had it smashed. Let's just say that she'll never own one of those again, nor will she ever watch the show." Jade laughed at the memory.

Spencer was about to say something, but then noticed Rossi standing in the doorway, an amused expression on his face.

"Rossi, you're back."

Spencer instantly stood straight, back to business. Jade, however, did not have a 'business' mode, as it appeared.

"Hey, Rossi. How long have you been there?" Jade smiled at Rossi, who stared at her.

"You know, you should be focusing on the case. Not on Doctor Who."

Jade's smile dropped. The twinkle in her eyes vanished.

"There wasn't anything to focus on. You -"

"You can't expect to be good at this job if you're too busy focusing on a show."

"There was nothing wrong -"

"So you've decided it's a real killer," Spencer butted in. Jade glared at him.

In her eyes, he was helping take care of the 'little kid' that everyone treated her like. In his eyes, however, he was just trying to break up the argument before anything bad happened.

"Yes. Agent Morris showed me one more thing from the boxes that she had confiscated. Hair."

"It's a fake."

Spencer and Rossi looked at Jade. Her eyes widened in shock.

"I, er, didn't mean to say that out loud. Sorry."

"Why do you think it's a fake?"

"No, forget it. You're the one who's been doing this a while. I'll stay quiet."

"Jade, if you know something you're supposed to tell me," Rossi reminded.

"I know a little about a lot of things. Just enough to make me dangerous. Because, honestly, what you don't understand can kill you." Spencer bit back a smile at her Supernatural reference. Rossi, however, didn't get the reference and just stared at Jade for a few minutes.

"I'm calling Hotch," Rossi told them, shaking his head lightly as he walked away. "We're going to be here for a while."

Once Rossi left the room, Spencer turned to Jade.

"Supernatural?" Spencer smiled, no longer having to hide his smile from an annoyed Rossi.

The twinkle came back to Jade's eyes and she smiled brightly.

"I think we're going to be great friends."


	6. Chapter Six: Nerdy With a Side of

**Chapter Six: Nerdy With A Side of Radish Earrings**

**AN: Thanks for the follows/favorites/reviews! Seriously, you're making my day less boring and more fun and full of happiness. :3 For anyone wondering: yes, this will include several references. Some you may know. Some you may not. This chapter includes two, and if you recognize them and what they're from, you are awesome. :)**

_"I know indeed what evil I intend to do, but stronger than all my afterthoughts is my fury, fury that brings upon mortals the greatest evils." - Euripides_

The next morning, Jade was awakened by knocking on the door of her hotel room. Sleepily, she kicked off her covers and, barely avoiding falling, managed to stand and make her way to the door. Just as another insistant _rap, rap, rap_ began to fall on the door, Jade opened it.

Jade glared sleepily at Spencer, who took a step back.

"We're leaving in half an hour to go back up to the office. Rossi said I should make sure you knew."

"Yeah, okay."

"I'll come back when it's time to leave, then," Spencer told her, making a quick escape. Jade, who would normally feel slightly offended, couldn't bring herself to care. She was tired. She wanted to sleep. Better yet, she wanted to sleep in a hotel where she wasn't paranoid that someone had died in and their ghost was standing over her bed as she struggled to sleep and -

_That's enough out of you, Brain_, Jade mentally thought. She had a very... Crazy brain, that loved to make things up. Things that would scare her. Like a ghost of a woman who would stand at the edge of her bed with a knife.

"I really need to stop thinking about this."

With a sigh, Jade decided to go ahead and get ready, appreciating the fact that she had remembered to pack a bag like her Uncle had told her to.

Jade, Spencer and Rossi grabbed a quick bite to eat with Agent Morris before going to the office. They sat in a modest little coffee shop, where they ate various types of biscuits and cookies and donuts.

Spencer sat beside her, pouring his fifth spoon-full of sugar into his coffee.

"Would you like some coffee with your sugar," Jill questioned, her eye brows shooting up.

"I hear that a lot."

Jill nodded before speaking with Rossi - a fact that caused Jade to roll her eyes before ignoring.

"You know, most people can't pull off a glare when they just woke up. But you did pretty good," Spencer told her, talking back to when he had woke her that morning.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I don't like to be woken up. My friend - and even this awesome manga/anime series - says it's because I have AB blood."

Spencer laughed lightly at her, adding yet another spoon-full of sugar to his coffee before deciding it had had enough.

Jade gave him a smile as her fingers moved up to probe at her earlobe, where an earring in the form of a radish was.

"You seem really nerdy for a pretty girl," Spencer told her, than instantly tried to take it back. But Jade's laugh had silenced him.

"Should I take that as a good thing?" Jade teased him. Despite feeling a little embarrassed (and grateful that Rossi and Jill had missed what he said, despite the two staring at Spencer and Jade now), Spencer smiled back.

"Yes."

Rossi and Jill went back to talking.

"I guess I am fairly nerdy," Jade said, after a moment's silence.

"I'd say you were. You're wearing radish earrings."

Her eyebrows shot up, clearly stunned.

"You know what they're from?"

"Of course."

The two shared a smile.

"How many things do you have like that? I mean, the TARDIS necklace, the radish earrings?"

"Oh. I have tons of 'nerd' jewelry. You'd be surprised."

Spencer smiled, "Of course."

_We are definately going to be great friends._

"Is this everything from the unit," Hotch asked Agent Morris. With the team reuntied again (they had just arrived less than ten mintes ago), we were all gathered around in the office, close enough to hear.

"No," Jill responded. "We pulled the salient materials and had Philly P.D. process the rest of the items on site."

"What else was there?" Emily questioned, holding tight to a pair of blue gloves. She would need them to look at the evidence.

"Some books, albums, toys."

"Toys," Morgan questioned.

"Yeah, old stuff. Like from his childhood. And we were able to lift some prints, but AFIS was a bust. He's not in our system."

"He wouldn't be after being so careful this whole time," Jade said.

"Morgan and Prentiss, go back to the unit and see what else it can tell us about the man," Hotch ordered.

"I'll get you directions," Jill spoke.

Morgan and Prentiss nodded, leaving the room, Jill hot on their heels.

"We have to establish if this guy's taking his fantasies to the next level." Rossi's words made Hotch nod.

"We can use these materials to try to identify his signature and connect him to any open cases," Hotch said, his eyes glancing over all the different things on the table. The evidence.

"On the surface it reads like he wants to try it all," Spencer told Hotch.

"Perhaps he's already done it all," Jade added.

Spencer nodded in agreement. "I think isolating any one aspect might be tough."

"Well then, dig deeper. Try linguistics. Look for patterns in the handwriting. Rossi and I will take the images. Jade can help you."

"Find the fetish, find the fiend."

With Rossi's final words, they began to work.

Jade, however, couldn't help but think one thought as she gave Spencer a nervous smile.

_Please don't mess up, please don't mess up, please don't mess up..._


	7. AN: I'm Coming Back!

Hey, guys. I'm sorry for those who thought this was a chapter... But at least it's good news. But first, I need to explain what happened. (Also, if you don't feel like reading this, go check out the bottom for the name you reviewed with. I've responded... And I plan to start doing so every five chapters or so.)

This story sort of vanished from my computer, and my papers had been destroyed in a fire. Then things continued to get worse and worse for me to be able to write this story (one of which being that I had huge difficulties being able to watch the episode needed to write it).

Now for the good news...

I am currently writing the very next chapter and - hopefully - things will get back on pace. I plan on trying to bulk up on a few chapters and put them out when I can manage.

And now for your reviews...

**Thank you,** ihavenoideawhattocallmyself**, for pointing out my mistake on Christopher's last name. I have no idea how I made the mistake. The only thing I can figure is that I looked around my room whilst writing and saw my Supernatural poster (containing Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki). I'm glad you caught that and I was able to fix it. :) Also, thanks for forgiving me on that mistake. ;)**

PartTimeMuggle**: I love your name, firstly. I'm hoping to include even more Supernatural and Doctor Who through out the story, along with Harry Potter and other various things. (Jade's a total fangirl/nerd about things like this.) :)**

SavingGrace579**: The "awesome" work will be coming back soon. Prepare for Supernatural references. ;)**

Guest**: She is a Whovian. And she will forever be. :)**

CarolBlake**: It's continuing! Again! :) I hope you still like it. :)**

luanny**: Continuing. :)**

CaseyGrey**: First review for this story... I hope you still read it. If not, though, thanks for being the first. :)**

HEY, GUYS!

If you like Harry Potter and OCs (or my writing...) you can go and check out a story that I'm writing with my friend, Avril.

It's called "The Black Zettas: Year One" and the link is:

** s/9712874/1/The-Black-Zettas-Year-One**

Or, you can just go and type in "black zettas" into the search bar. It'll pop up there. :)

It's updated every Friday with my chapter and every Saturday with her chapter. :)

And, for those of you who wish to know what the story is about...

Summary:

_Eris Black and Avril Zetta had never been normal, not even in the Wizarding World. When you have special talents, it's hard to fit in. How will the world be affected by these two friends? Who will know their gifts, and must never find out? And how do Draco Malfoy and Fred Weasley fit into all this? Only reading about their worlds will reveal the answers._

The story's doing well on its own (though no where near as good as this fic), but my co-author and I have decided something.

Our OCs are in the year below Fred and George, making them the year above Harry and Draco. So... There aren't that many known students in that year. So far, we have... I think 3 or 4 people known.

Why am I telling y'all?

Well, because we'd like to use you guys to help add in some characters.

If you like our HP story, just leave a comment for it, and, in that comment, say that you want a character in our year. We'll get back with you (most likely me) and get the required things to add in your character. :) Note: your character will be a side-character. Possibly a re-appearing one (a potion partner, a girl in the same dorm room, or a semi-close friend of either Eris or Avril - which is completely up to you), but a side-one.

Thank you to those who reviewed, clicked favorite, and followed. Thanks to the silent readers, too, as I know they are out there. ;)

I hope I made at least one person happy to know that my story will be coming back.


	8. Chapter Seven: Electric Discoveries

**Chapter 7: Electric Discoveries**

Jade sat across from Spencer at one of the tables in the room. The table was covered in papers from the killer's storage. Jade had went through about five pages, whereas Spencer had went through nearly thirty.

The thought that all of this was real was making Jade a little sick. She needed to think of a way to push it away.

Jade gave a small smile as an idea came to her: think of it like a book. And so she did. Jade imagined that she was in a book. She was the main character - or perhaps the killer was, and she was only a side-character trying to defeat him? It didn't matter. Jade was a main character working amongst other main characters to defeat the evil of the world one bad guy at a time.

It helped Jade clear her head and not feel so ill when she read about how these women were violated and tortured.

"Are you okay?"

Jade snapped her head up, her raddish earrings bouncing.

"Huh?"

"You've been on that same page for the past eight minutes. You should be done with it already."

Jade tried not to feel embarrassed, but, really, she wasn't sure how he meant that to come out.

"I was just having problems with reading some of this?"

"What? You didn't understand some of the words?"

A glare formed on Jade's face. "I understand just fine. I understand _too_ fine."

Spencer stared at her, waiting for her to go on.

"This guy," Jade said with a sigh. "He's not like the one's we had to learn about. This case... It's... It just bothers me."

"What do you mean?"

"Look, I've read some of this guy's torture plans. Even his abduction plans. Never once does it mention taking something like hair. I think it was -"

"Planted?"

Jade nodded, trying to ignore the forming lump in her throat. If she was wrong, she could get in trouble. Worse, she could get kicked off the team because she wasn't good enough. If only she had been top of her class... Maybe then she'd be good enough.

"Why do you think it's planted?"

"This man doesn't mention ever taking hair, though at one point -" Jade reached over to one of the sheets she had read and flipped it around for Spencer to see. "He mentions taking clothing from them, because he can 'feel it all over again.' Not just that - why would she have the hair hidden away in her office? She wanted us to determine if there was a killer, yet she hides evidence from us? Until Rossi goes to say that there isn't a killer? It's too... Horror-story-by-an-eight-year-old."

Spencer stared at Jade for a moment. "Horror story by an eight-year-old?"

"I had a neighbor who wrote horror stories when she was younger. It sounds like something she'd have done. 'As the man told the woman that there was no killer, she reached into her desk and pulled out hair.' Turned out that the woman was the killer." Jade shrugged as she put a paper to the side and picked up another to go over. It had a very detailed account of the look on the faces of the victims as they burned.

_You're in a book_, Jade thought.

"You think Jill's the killer?"

"No. She's just an attention whore."

Jade and Spencer went back to work, sorting through page after page. Each page made Jade wish this man were dead.

There were times when he was so excited, he broke through the page he was writing on. These moments included whenever he spoke about watching them as they were tortured, re-living their deaths and tortures with dresses, and - the most foul - when he used electric shock on them.

"Electric shock," Jade whispered. "That must be horrible."

Spencer didn't look up. "Yeah."

Jade bit her lip as she read. These women were violated in some of the most unimaginable ways. Stripped nude, forced into an open position, and then electrified - all for the pleasure of one sick man. Jade was disgusted.

"I think we've got enough," Spencer said after some time. Jade sat aside her last paper and nodded her head.

"Let's go tell Rossi."

Spencer stood and left the room, telling Jade to grab one of the papers on electricty. Jade quickly did so and followed. For every one stride of his, though, she was forced into two. Spencer's legs were long like his strides, whereas Jade's legs were short.

Once they reached Rossi, Spencer spoke.

"Extra-linguistic indicators in his writing suggest he's most excited by the prospect of electric shock." Spencer told Rossi. Jade decided to just stand back - Rossi didn't seem to like her much.

"As a method of torture. Be specific. When you're in court, the judge will demand it." Rossi demanded. It didn't seem to phase Spencer, but it made Jade want to hit Rossi.

She had a feeling he was one of those guys that she wouldn't like until after awhile.

"Jade, can I have the paper?"

Jade nodded and handed it to Spencer, who put in on the table for Rossi to see.

"See how heavy his handwriting becomes?" Spencer pointed to parts of the page. "At times, he's so exhilarated, he actually rips through the page. The idiolect supports it as well. I mean -"

Rossi cut Spencer off with a wave of his hand. He turned to Jade. "You're supposed to be one of the best in your class. Why don't you point out what Reid was saying?"

Jade stepped forward. "He was talking about how the man gets so excited that he rips through the paper -" Jade pointed to one of the words on the sheet. " -he was also going to say, before you interrupted, that it can be seen to be the killer's favorite torture because he goes into a more creative description."

Spencer nodded his head and said, "Nowhere else is he as creative in his descriptions."

"Good work," Rossi told them. "You found a signature that's easy to track."

"The electrical burns on his victims will be unmistakable."

Rossi met eyes with Jade. He was profiling her - she was sure of it. But Jade had nothing to hide. She smiled at him and gave a wave.

She may not be the best at this yet, and she may not ever get the full hang of some things. But she was going to make sure she didn't let anyone bring her down.


	9. Chapter Eight: Narnia, A Meeting

**Chapter 8: Searching For Narnia; A Meeting**

"Jade," Uncle Aaron called.

I looked up from my seat, where I had been reading a text message from my mother. I hadn't been able to speak to her in quite some time. . . She actually didn't know that I was out here doing this, believing that I was, instead, taking up my time in a medical field. But that's a story for another time.

"Yeah, Uncle Aaron?"

"We're having a meeting. Second door to the right down this hall. Be in there in ten minutes."

Jade nodded. Aaron turned to leave, but stopped short and stared at his niece.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Wrong move. If there was anything Jade knew, it was that you were _never_ supposed to tell a lie to her Uncle Aaron. His eyebrows shot up, a look in his eyes saying 'are you sure?' It wasn't a 'are you sure you're okay?' It was a 'are you sure you want to try me?' Jade knew that she didn't want to try him, but she certainly didn't wish to speak about her mother at the moment.

"I'm just a little worried about the case," she said, leaning forward in her seat. "Rossi hates me."

"You seem to be doing fine so far, from what I've heard."

Jade was close to a smile when she realized that he said nothing on the fact that Rossi hated her.

"So, he does hate me?"

"And to think that he doesn't know you nearly as long as I do." Aaron cracked a smile.

Jade laughed, unable to hide it. She wasn't around Aaron nearly enough to see his joking side. Most people weren't.

"Come on. We've got work to do."

Jade smiled and stood up, feeling a bit more comfortable in her skin.

"Thanks."

"For what?"

She gave him a hug. "Being amazing."

Aaron gave her a semi-awkward hug in reply.

Jade pulled away, a smirk firmly placed on her face. "Too bad you'll never be as amazing as me!"

Jade laughed before walking away to the room.

_How many doors did he say? And which side?_

Not wanting to feel stupid and ask her uncle to repeat himself, she flung open the second door on the left.

A blush worked its way on her face as she realized that she had made a mistake.

"A closet?" Aaron smiled.

"Oh, you know. . . Just checking for Narnia." Jade pushed her hand against the back of the wall, as if checking for a hidden compartment. "Nope, all clear. No Narnia."

Jade smiled at her uncle, who grabbed her shoulder and brought her to the correct door.

"I won't tell anyone about that."

"Thank you."

A few moments later, once everyone was inside of the room and ready to be briefed, Derek and Emily told the rest of the gang what they had discovered.

The UNSUB was white, male, and had possibly changed when he was around the age of 6 or so, when his mother disappeared for a reason unknown to us (maybe she just up and left - maybe she died). They also mentioned that they believe his porn addiction came from his father's porn collection, as there were several magazines that dated quite a bit back. The UNSUB, from what they could gather, wouldn't have been alive yet, as they now believed him to be in his mid thirties.

Uncle Aaron and Rossi had informed them afterwards that the UNSUB leaving behind his father's magazines and "graduating" to torture porn was a trigger. Early exposure was a demon to the brain. Against her will, Jade remembered a quote from Ted Bundy (a nasty serial killer) from one of the many books they had been forced to read at school: "If you want to stop people from becoming like me, don't burn _Catcher in the Rye_. Burn _Hustler_." Of course this was in a book written by David Rossi, who was standing just two people down from her.

"This is Dana Foster," JJ told us, pulling up the image of a woman on the TV. Jade knew without a doubt that this was one of the murdered women in their case. The woman was a dirty blonde. Wrinkles were already setting themselves on her face, but she still looked happy as she gave the camera a large smile.

"She's a 34-year-old realestate agent from the suburb of Blue Bell." The image changed. Jade discreetly sucked in a deep breath, not having been prepared. Now, the image was of her upper body, nude and dead. Her arm, thankfully, covered her breast - but at this point, Jade would rather have seen her boobs instead of her corpse. She could just see the victim's neck - it was marked, as if she had been strangled. JJ continued to speak like there wasn't a corpse's picture behind her. "She was murdered 5 years ago when she went to meet a prospective buyer at a house in Bucks County." The picture changed again, this time revealing that she was at least wearing pantis. The image changed a final time to show her collar bone, where two large wounds were. Jade felt her stomach flop. Electrical burns. "Her nude body was found in a cellar, and she was strangled and raped."

JJ's voice seemed to be void of the life that was normally in it. Jade didn't blame her. It was one thing to go over the evidence alone - it was a complete different level, however, to show brief a whole team about the cruelness that had insued to this poor woman.

_Raped and strangled_, Jade thought, forcing back a shiver. It would be such a terrible way to go. And this victim - _Dana Foster_ - had felt this in her final moments.

"And here's the torture behavior that Reid and Jade identified from the journals," Uncle Aaron commented, staring at the picture of the burn marks. Jade wasn't sure that she liked having her name mentioned in that sentence, though she did appreciate being recognized. "The contact wounds are burn marks, most likely the result of electricl current."

"Any leads on the buyer she went to meet?" Emily asked JJ.

JJ shook her head, stating, "Fake name."

"Louis Ivey." Agent Morris said. "Could this guy be any more perfect?"

"Besides the 'I rape and kill women' bit?" Jade said. "Because I'm not seeing him as perfect. Correct me if I'm wrong."

Thankfully, the people on her uncle's team seemed to agree with her. Aaron had given Agent Morris a sharp look and Emily and JJ both had cast disgusted looks at the agent.

"I just mean that he's good at this," Agent Morris clarified. Still, Jade couldn't shake what the woman had said. _'Could this guy be any more perfect?'_ What person would dare think such a thing about a man that tortured, raped, and then brutally murdered women? It was wrong and disgusting.

"Were her clothes found at the scene?" Emily finally asked.

"No," Agent Morris easily answered. "How'd you know?"

"He takes them as souvenirs, and he alters them to fit his own frame," Derek told her.

"Still perfect?" Jade muttered, earning a hard look from Uncle Aaron. She shut her mouth, crossing her arms and biting her tongue to repress anything else that might try to escape her mouth.

"So he's bisexual?" Agent Morris asked Derek. Jade tried not to laugh as Derek gave her a look that said 'you're kidding, right?' Before Jade could tell her just how stupid that question was, Reid was already speaking.

"Actually," Reid said, catching Agent Morris's attention, "most cross-dressers are heterosexual. It's fairly common in sexual predators."

"Not to mention that everything in the containment units were about females. The only male was himself," Jade added. She glanced at her uncle, but he only nodded, not looking at her. She wanted to smile, though. She had said something that he agreed with.

"What about her hair?" Rossi asked JJ, nodding at the screen that showed Dana Foster's wounded top. "Was any of it missing?"

JJ shook her head 'no.' "Not that was reported."

The second that Rossi had said 'hair', Jade had been focused on Agent Morris. She still couldn't bring herself to understand why she would have taken evidence from the containment units. Now, she saw what she wanted: Agent Morris rubbed the back of her neck and avoided looking at Rossi and JJ - before, she had been looking at each member that spoke. Jade narrowed her eyes, but didn't speak. If she called her out now, Rossi might call _her_ out for being new and then things would get way too out of hand.

She'd wait, but she'd tell.

Aaron brought her back into reality. "JJ, contact Garcia and widen the victim search. Rossi and I will go visit the crime scene."

It took less than a minute for JJ, Rossi, Aaron and Agent Morris to leave the room.

Once the door was closed, Jade thought about telling them what she had noticed. Before she could speak, though, Derek stood and stretched.

"I think it's about time I got something to eat. Since it's free and all." He flashed a smile at Emily, who rolled her eyes.

"You got lucky that you found the dresses first," she retorted. She looked at Spenser and Jade. "Do you two want to come with us?"

"Sure," Spenser said, eagerly rising to his feet. They all turned to look at Jade, who was still firmly sat in her seat. She was still debating whether she should tell them. "Jade, are you coming?"

She nodded and rose to her feet. "Sorry, I was thinking."

The group nodded, taking her answer and leaving it. Just as they were about to walk through the door, however, JJ poked her head back in. She locked eyes with Jade.

"Hotch and Rossi want you to go with them."

Jade wasn't sure why she suddenly felt like a preschooler getting called to the principal's office. Perhaps it was the looks they all gave her. She nodded at JJ and walked out of the room, head held high, and walked to where her uncle was patiently waiting down the corridor.

**AN: The next chapter will be up soon (hopefully!). I'm going to try and finish this episode tonight, but that may be pushing it a bit. I just want to thank all my readers (for being so understanding. . . Please?) and say sorry for the huge wait. I hope that there won't be any more huge waits, but, well, I'm a senior in high school and life is busy for me. (I DON'T WANT TO GROW UP ;_; ) I think I may have a writing/updating time set up, but that's still to remain seen.**

**So, for now. . . Enjoy Jade.**

**Because Jade's back. And she's ready for whatever the series, the author, and possibly even the readers have to throw at her.**

**-Eris**


	10. Chapter Nine: Visiting the Monster House

**Chapter Nine: Visiting the Monster House**

Jade sat quietly in the backseat of the vehicle. She was torn between saying nothing about Agent Morris, and between spilling her guts to her uncle like she normally would. Finally, Aaron's eyes met her own in the mirror.

"Jade, you look like you're hiding something."

And that's all it took.

"It's Agent Morris. I think she planted the hair."

Rossi made the car go faster. Clearly, he was annoyed. "We talked about this."

"You didn't see how she acted when you brought up the hair during the meeting, though!" Jade argued.

"Jade," Aaron said calmly. "Why do you think she planted the hair?"

"Because, Rossi, Spencer and I went through the killer's stuff to determine if he was a killer. After Rossi went to say there wasn't a killer, she showed him evidence. The hair. But. . . For one thing, why would you take some of the evidence from the boxes if you wanted us to say there was a killer? And why wait until we say there _isn't_ a killer to show it to us? And for another thing, when we were in the meeting, Rossi brought up the hair - and JJ said there was _no hair missing_. There was no talk about taking hair in any of the papers, either. She acted _guilty_ when JJ said there wasn't any proof."

The words came out quickly. With each second, her words seemed to pick up speed. When she had finished, the car was quiet. Aaron said:

"How did she act guilty?"

"Before hand, she had looked at each member as they spoke. She was engaged in the conversation. She waseager to learn more about the killer. When Rossi brought up the hair, she ducked her head down. She nervously rubbed the back of her neck. She didn't look at him nor JJ when they spoke."

Aaron nodded. Rossi frowned. They pulled up at the house that Dana Foster was murdered in. She knew without a doubt that this meant the conversation was done with for now.

Jade followed Rossi and Aaron up the front steps of the house. She still felt like a preschooler. When she had asked why they wanted her, Rossi had said "I didn't" at the same time as Aaron had said "You need the practice." Now, standing on the porch of this house, Jade felt rather lonely. Through the door, Jade could just hear a little boy.

"What this, Daddy," the little boy said. Jade smiled as her uncle rang the door bell. Jade had always loved kids.

"Hold on, son," she heard a male say. "Let me get the door."

"This house has thin walls," Jade observed.

"Maybe that's why he used the cellar," Rossi added.

The door opened, revealing a smiling man with dark hair and a stubbled beard. He wore a simple blue shirt with a flanel long sleeve over it.

"Mr. Overholt?" Her uncle asked. Beside him, Rossi had already got out his FBI license. Aaron reached into his coat pocket as he said, "I'm Agent Hotchner. This is Agent Rossi and Trainee Agent Jade."

They both lowered their badges and Mr. Overholt stopped smiling. Jade, however, wanted to jump and shout and smile like a lunatic. Sure, her uncle had added 'trainee' to the title, but how long had she wanted to be an agent?

"We're with the FBI," her uncle continued.

"FBI?" The man asked.

"You've lived in this house for four years, correct?" Rossi asked, taking the lead. Jade remained silent. She knew this was no time to speak.

"Yeah," Mr. Overholt said, nodding his head. He shifted his gaze over the two agents and the one future agent. He looked worried, confused and even a little scared. Despite knowing she shouldn't, Jade found herself speaking.

"You didn't do anything wrong," she told the older man, flashing him a smile. He relaxed and nodded.

"I assume disclosures were made at the time of sale about what occurred here?" Rossi continued, ignoring Jade's comment (or perhaps Jade all together).

Mr. Overholt nodded again.

"Yeah," he breathed out. He glanced behind him, where Jade could just barely hear a child playing. He turned back to the three, his voice quieter than it originally had been, but louder than it was just previous. "My son doesn't know about that, and I prefer to keep it that way."

"Of course. We understand. We'll be discreet." Aaron promised. "We just need to take a look at your cellar."

The man gestured with his head that the cellar was around back. He stepped out of his house, closed the door, and led the agents (and future agent) to the backyard.

"I've had it locked up since we moved in," he told them as they walked. Jade couldn't see him anymore - Rossi had followed him, Aaron walking just behind Rossi in single file around the side of the house. Sometimes, she _really_ hated being short. "You know, it's. . . kind of useless, anyway. Floods when it rains, you know, it's really damp, and all the electrical's messed up."

The last bit struck Jade hard in the chest. _'. . .and all the electrical's messed up.'_ Shock therapy was a horrible thing. It not only did great impact to the body of choice, but it would also mess up the electrical wires and system of a house if done in a make-shift way.

Mr. Overholt pulled out his keys from his pocket, unlocked the cellar, and then quickly slid the keys into his pocket. He strained to open the cellar, the tendons in his neck pushing against the underneath of his skin to make themself known. Though the doors were obviously heavy, he opened them rather quickly. Once they were open, Rossi and Aaron stepped forward.

"Hope you guys don't mind if I stay up here," Mr. Overholt said.

"We'll try not to take too long," Rossi told him. He pulled a flashlight from his pocket and lead the way down the stairs. Aaron gestured for Jade to go next.

Jade followed Rossi into the darkness. Part of her wondered if she should be fearful. She _should_ be fearful, shouldn't she? This was the place that a woman had been brutally murdered. Yet. . . Jade felt a strange rush of adrenaline that made her feel guilty. Surely she wasn't excited to be at a murder location?

_No_, she thought. _I'm happy to be out in the field._

Still, she couldn't shake her guilt. Not even when Rossi began to speak.

"So. . . He's done with the tour of the main house." Rossi flipped a switch. The light bulb over head of the actual cellar flickered to life, then flickered dead. It continued to flicker back and forth, making a buzzing sound as it did so. It was as if it were being pushed back and forth between the living and the dead, unsure of which realm it belonged to. "Before he goes, he asks the realtor -" Rossi flicked the switch again, killing the light - "to see the cellar. And boom."

Jade tried not to think of what _boom_ meant, but she could see it anyways.

_Dana Foster walked down into the cellar, a faceless man walking behind her. She stumbled on the last step and laughed at herself. "It's a bit dark, but the light works just fine."_

_Before she can turn around to see why the man was so quiet, she's hit in the back of the head. Her body falls, unconscious, to the ground. The man laughs. . ._

Aaron's voice brings Jade to reality, away from the fictional version of a real murder that took place right where she was standing. A chill swept up her spine.

"Contusion on the back of her head says he surprised her," Aaron said. Jade looked at him, now that they were all in the cellar's dark depths. He was reading the report with a flashlight. "He incapacitated her with a blunt object."

"Thick walls," Rossi observed.

"Unlike the house, where we could easily hear Mr. Overholt and his son," Jade observed. Rossi nodded in agreement.

"Neighbors are few and far between. He can make her scream as loud as he wants to."

A shiver spasmed down Jade's spine. She tried to force it to go away, along with the mental image of Dana Foster's dead body.

"Rope burns on her wrists," Aaron reported from the corner. He was still reading what the report had to say. "He probably suspended her."

He shun his flashlight upwards. She walked over and guided it to the post that ran across the middle of the room.

"Like in his drawings," she told him, nodding at the board. "It's thick enough to hold a woman's weight - or even a man's, for that matter - and he mentioned in one of his papers that he's used them before."

Rossi walked up to them, looking at the board as well.

Jade walked away, her head spinning with thoughts and images. At first, they didn't make much sense to her.

_There's a board like the writings_ - gave her an image of a light bulb.

_He tied her up and watched her _- gave her an image of a cord.

_Electricity_ - gave her the final image she needed.

And it was right in front of her.

Aaron nodded. "And then he applied the current and watcher her whole body spasm."

"And makes her dance," Rossi replied darkly. "But where does he get the juice? Cattle prod? Taser?"

"Contact wounds don't conform to that," Aaron told him.

"How about this?" Jade asked. The two men looked at her. She was pointing to an outlet, the white over-layer of it was sticking out.

"Outlet's been tampered with," Rossi observed. He stepped beside Jade and crouched down, looking at it more closely.

"A tampered outlet would be easy to rig, if you had a basic understanding," Jade told them. "I've done it before."

Rossi pulled back the white piece.

"Be careful," Aaron advised.

Rossi reached in and pulled out a few wires held together by a metal clip. "Jerry-rigged. Clamp is still there."

Aaron walked over to the two, seeing it for his own eyes.

"He didn't have to use a taser." Aaron said quietly. "He pulled power from the house."

"Handy guy."

"Monster house," Jade remarked.


	11. Chapter Ten: Accusing Agent Morris

**Chapter Ten: Accusing Agent Morris**

The ride back to the office had been quiet as Aaron told JJ and the others what the cellar had provided. Jade noticed that he left out the part about Agent Morris. She was either in the room with them, or he didn't want them to know Jade's suspecions.

It would look bad, Jade realized, to accuse the person who brought you here of faking evidence. Still, Jade didn't like Agent Morris.

Eventually, they found their way back to the office. When they got inside, JJ left to tell Agent Morris that Rossi and the two Hotchners were back. Just as she left, though, Derek's phone began to ring.

He answered it: "Hey, baby girl."

Spenser mouthed 'Penelope Garcia' from across the table.

'Dating' she mouthed back.

He shook his head 'no.'

Jade remembered the woman as the beautiful and plump female that had brought Aaron to her. She was lovely and seemed both smart and funny to the young trainee.

"I'm putting you on speaker phone," Derek told Penelope. He moved the phone from his ear, hit a button, and then angled the phone so everyone could hear.

"Ready for this news?" She asked.

"What did you find, Garcia?" Aaron asked.

"More bodies matching your description," she said. "I had to do a bit of digging, but I found two more with the burn marks."

"Prentiss, go see what's taking JJ and Agent Morris so long," Rossi commanded. "They should be in here for this."

Emily rose without a word and left the room.

"Let me know when to talk," Penelope said through the phone. Jade could just faintly hear the tapping sound of a computer keyboard.

A moment later, the group was all together and Derek instructed Penelope to continue.

"Three females, age 31 to 38, discovered off freeways in Maryland, Jersey, and New York. All naked, burn wounds consistent with the signature." Penelope told them.

"And he disposed of all of the bodies in different states to avoid detection," Emily commented.

Jade couldn't help but think it was a smart move on the killer's part - but then she remembered Agent Morris's admiring tone as she called the killer _perfect_. Jade no longer thought it was a smart move, rather a bid at prolonging your capture.

"Garcia, when were these bodies discovered?" Aaron asked.

"Uh. Between '02 and Spring of '03."

"After the real estate agent, he changed his methods," JJ realized.

"Fast learner." Emily added.

"Four kills by the age of 30." Morris said. Jade felt like she was trying to brag.

"And he was just getting started," Aaron finished for them all.

After that, Aaron told Spencer and Derek to set up the board (and for Jade to watch them, so she'd learn how to do it properly). So she sat on the desk, handing Derek and Spenser the photos they asked for as they placed photo after photo, deceased female after deceased female, on the board. Agent Morris stood beside Jade, watching them. Finally, they were done.

"Okay, so tell me what you have," Agent Morris said, stepping up between Spenser and Derek. Derek moved back until he was sitting beside Jade on the desk. Spenser, however, nodded and began to speak.

"We connected the three new bodies with missing person cases. So with a total of four victims on the board, we were able to narrow down the UNSUB's type."

Agent Morris seemed to be taking in the pictures. Then, she said: "Thirties, attractive, caucasian, upwardly mobile?"

"Yeah," Derek said. "College grads, above-average income, career women."

"You establish a cycle?" She asked, not bothering to turn all the way around.

"Ten months between the realtor and the first of these victims." Derek told her. "Then seven months, three months."

Though Agent Morris couldn't see it, Derek pointed to each of the victims.

"He's practically doubling his pace every time." She observed, finally turning to look at Derek.

"As with most prolific killers, the cooling-off period tends to shorten after each murder," Spencer informed them.

"Last known victim was found almost five years ago," Derek added.

Agent Morris spun around. "Five years?" Derek merely nodded. "So could he have stopped?"

"No, not this guy." Derek glanced at the photos before saying, "It's more likely we just haven't found the bodies yet."

"And there might not even be bodies, per se," Spencer interrupted. "We know he wrote extensivey about creating a homemade incinerator."

"He could be having his fun and then tortching them," Jade agreed. "But why start tortching them if you wanted the glory for their deaths? Then again, the glory for their deaths has only been a recent matter. Starting with the storage unit."

"So, how many we talking? Ballpark?"

"If you extrapolate the cycle in the last five years, he will have killed approximately 19 more women."

The thought made Jade feel sick. Nineteen more women, abducted, raped, tortured, and then murdered. Nineteen more women with families that will never get to see them again.

"It's great stuff, guys." She said.

"It's not great stuff," Jade instantly said. "Also, do any of you notice something that doesn't fit in?"

Both Spencer and Derek turned back to the board, looking for what she was talking about. Neither noticed, however, that she was staring straight at Agent Morris, who was staring straight back at her.

"You're a trainee," Agent Morris remarked coldly. "What would you see that they don't?"

Jade stood up, determination written on her face and anger written in her eyes. She pointed to each of the girls.

"Brunette. Brunette. Brunette. The only female with blonde hair was Dana Foster."

"We know that," Spencer told her. "That's why -"

But she wasn't paying him any attention. Her eyes were focused on Agent Morris's guarded ones.

"Tell me, Agent Morris. What was it that made Rossi think there was a killer?"

"Hair," Agent Morris responded. Jade didn't miss the look on her face. The look that clearly said she didn't want to talk about this.

Jade looked at her, waiting for her to clarify. "What color?"

"Blonde."

"That eliminates the last three victims. But not the first. Who, surprisingly enough, isn't missing so much as a lock of her hair."

"Maybe the killer came back to the storage unit," she suggested.

"Except they said that no one had been to that unit in _years_. Not since a few months after Dana Foster was murdered."

The room was dead silent.

"Are you accusing me of something?" Agent Morris finally asked.

Jade narrowed her eyes. "I'm not supposed to."

Agent Morris smiled at her, cool and collected. She looked at the two boys. "Keep me posted."

Without so much as a glance at Jade, she walked out of the room.

"She does know we don't work for her, right?" Derek asked Spencer.

Spencer shrugged and looked at the board and then at Jade. She was still fuming.

"You think she planted evidence?" Spencer asked.

"I hate that stupid question." Jade sat back down on the desk, glaring daggers into the floor - wishing that she could glare _real_ daggers into Agent Morris's head. "I don't want to explain again."

"Who did you tell already?" Derek asked.

"Uncle Aaron and Rossi." She groaned, closing her eyes. "I'm going to get in trouble for this."

"Maybe not," Derek said, trying to comfort her. "You pointed out a fact. The first victim wasn't missing any hair. And we're certain that the next victim was a brunette."

She nodded, taking in a deep breath.

"Right."

"Are you okay now?" Derek asked.

"Yes."

Emily leaned into the room. "Hotch wanted me to get all of you. We're briefing the police now."

Jade rethought Derek's question: _No._


	12. Chapter Eleven: Briefing, Dinner

**Chapter Eleven: Briefing, Dinner**

Jade stood beside Spencer as the police poured into the room. Her heart was hammering and she felt nervous and uncomfortable. Her hand moved up to play with the TARDIS that hung around her neck. Beside her, Spencer managed to look both uncomfortable and yet essential to the room itself. Still, Jade hoped that she didn't look too uncomfortable.

_At least if they notice that I look uncomfortable and Spencer looks uncomfortable, they might not think too much about it._ Jade smiled at her next thought: _We belong to the Uncomfortable Corner!_

"With four known victims," Aaron started, jolting her back into the room. The briefing had begun. And the feeling that she really didn't want to be in the room intensified. Aaron continued, "we should start by re-interviewing friends and family. We're looking for a white male in his 30s to 40s and with his knowledge of cicuitry and wiring, we think that he's either an electrician or an electrical engineer."

Rossi picked up from where Aaron left off.

"It's a job that may give him access to a victim's home or workplace, the opportunity to observe his targets. "

Emily stood up next. "They're attractive, professional women. He sees them as strong, righteous, unobtainable. So he seeks to tear them down, to reduce them to base sexual creatures and punish them."

Aaron began to speak again.

"He's a true sexual sadist. A typology we refer to as anger-excitation, meaning he bcomes sexualy aroused by the suffering of his victims."

Rossi stepped forward. All eyes fell on him. "Killing these women is an afterthought. Their pain is what he's after. And he takes his time. To exact maximum stimulation."

"What about his trophies?" A man asked. He was wearing a suit and glasses. "He keeps their clothes, right?"

"Yes," Emily said. "We believe he's using them for rehearsal fantasies. By dressing as his victims, he can relive the torture. It's during this time that he most likely pleasures himself in order to reinforce his association between suffering and gratification."

"And when he becomes dissatisfied with this, he seeks out a new victim." Aaron told them. The men and women were listening eagerly, many of them scribbling frantically on little notepads.

"Keep in mind," Rossi advised, "he's been doing this for a long time, and he's been thinking about doing it most of his life. He'll continue to evolve, finding new ways of challenging himself, increasing his stimulation threshold. There are no boundaries for this man."

JJ walked into the room, calling over the heads of the people gathered: "Hotch."

"Excuse us," Aaron told the men and women. They nodded and began to speak amongst themselves as Aaron led the gathered team out of the room, after JJ.

_Good-bye, Uncomfortable Corner._ Jade thought. _And disgusting mental images of a man dressed in a murdered woman's dress masturbating._

JJ lead them down the hall and entered a room, where a TV was on. Agent Morris was on the TV. In the top left corner, it read "BREAKING NEWS." JJ turned it up slightly so we could hear better as Agent Morris said:

_"He's an individal that we believe to be currently active within our community. If it were not for certain evidence brought to our attention in recent days, he may well have continued to operate without our knowledge. We're still investigating more specifics . . ."_

Aaron's voice drowned over her. "You know about this?"

Rossi only shook his head.

_". . . past murders and who might have been his victims. But now that he is on our radar, you can rest assured that we will find him and bring him to justice."_

Agent Morris smiled at the camera and left. Jade's blood boiled. Though she was new to the team, she knew this process was wrong and potentially harmful to the case.

Aaron left the room, no doubt in search of Agent Morris.

Jade remembered once, when she was a teenager, she had asked her uncle what was the most damaging thing you could ever do while on a case. His words echoed in her mind: _"One of the most damaging things you could ever do to a case, Jade, is being an agent focused on trying to make your name on it. Can you name the victims of a famous killer?"_ Jade had told him yes, and then even named some of them to prove it - even going beyond, to say that she remembered the names because "what if I were them? I'd want someone to remember my injustice, and my family's." Her uncle had smiled and said, _"Then you'd never become like that. You'd never put the story before the case."_

Quietly, so that no one could hear, she whispered, "But this case is part of their story."

Jade sat beside Emily at a booth, Derek and Spencer in front of them. On the table was a map that Spencer had brought. They were at a tiny dinner not too far away from the office, just in case they got called back. The four had left for dinner, thankful to get away from the case and Agent Morris (though Jade was definitely the most thankful). And, in true adult fashion, their topic of conversation turned to the same thing that they were escaping: work.

"No, I have no doubt that she's highly capable," Spencer said. "I'm just - I'm saying that I find her excitement level at the prospect of finding more bodies somewhat unsettling."

"Might want to say 'bodies' a bit more quietly," Jade suggested, nodding to an old lady in the corner, who was staring at them in horror.

The waitress walked over and handed Derek his plate.

"Thank you," he told her. He continued to speak as she passed out the remaining dishes. "Yeah, JJ said she was making up names for the killer."

The waitress only paused briefly before continuing her job.

"And yet, if she was a man, you'd say she had balls," Emily countered.

"Oh, don't even go there." Derek said, shaking his head. "This is not a gender thing."

"Right," Emily said.

"Regardless of gender, she's the kind of agent that Uncle Aaron warned me about." Jade took a sip of her drink. They were all looking at her.

"Warned you about?" Derek asked.

"Oh. Yeah. When I was younger, I wanted to be a profiler, so I asked him enough questions to make him insane."

Emily laughed. "That'd be a sight."

Jade smiled. "Well, anyway, one was 'what's the most damaging thing you could do on a case?' He told me that it was when you tried to make your name using the case. When you put the story and the killer before the case and the victims."

"Smart answer," Derek commented.

"How old were you when he told you that?" Emily asked.

"I was in my early teens." She took another sip of her drink.

"What made you want to be a profiler? Just Hotch being one?"

Jade bit her lip. "This is such a little kid answer. But I was completely mesmerized about how he could tell when I was lying or not when my own parents couldn't tell. He actually started training me when I was real young, teaching me about personalities and traits and things along those lines."

"You wanted to be a profiler," Derek said, raising an eyebrow, "because you got caught lying."

"A lot. And I'm good at lying. So, yeah." Jade flashed him a smile and he laughed.

"Okay then."

Emily smiled before groaning and saying, "Okay. Let's get back to Reid's map."

Spencer instantly began to speak. "All right, the nearness principle tells us that a killer won't travel far to abduct his victims, but this one's gone to great lengths to spread out his abduction and disposal sites." His knife was tracing lines around the map.

"So the sites are irrelevant to the geographical profile?" Emily asked.

"The only location I can attach a real meaning to is the storage unit." Spencer said, sounding a bit down.

"Four victims and we got squat." Derek shook his head and continued eating. Jade ate one of her fries as she listened to Spencer.

"For years he's gone unchecked. I think it's only a matter of time before he grows comfortable and starts killing closer to home."

"Unfortunately, that only helps us if there's a fresh kill." Emily said quietly. Derek threw down his fork. It clinked against the plate.

"So there's a woman out there right now that has to die so we can do our job." Derek said, leaning back in the booth.

"Please tell me this doesn't happen often." Jade looked at each of their faces - grim and suddenly out of place in the joyful dinner.

"More so than we'd like," Emily finally answered.

Jade pushed her plate away. She didn't feel hungry anymore.

**AN: Okay, so I didn't get to finish the episode. But it's going on 3AM and I don't know what today has planned for me, so I have to go to sleep now. Hopefully there will be more to come. (And maybe more rapid-fire updates in the future! . . .okay, so these weren't 'rapid-fire' per se, but they were posted within five minutes of me finishing them. And it's more than you've had in months, so. . . Yes.)**


	13. Chapter Twelve: A Call for the Dead

**Chapter Twelve: A Call for the Dead**

The next day, Jade sat close enough to hear all the different conversations happening around the room, but far enough away that she wasn't part of them. They had called in family members of the victims, asking them questions. Jade was not allowed to take part in the interviews. At first, she had been upset. But when the first mother started crying, her heart shattered and she was glad that Aaron had refused to let her help.

Still, Jade found herself listening.

A man was upset because he had left an angry voicemail. A mother was saying how it was selfish that they wanted their own peace of mind. Another woman was talking about a dream that she couldn't remember, but thought it would have given her a clue as to her daughter's location if only she could remember. Jade listened to interview after interview, never once speaking. She was deadly quiet until Agent Morris walked into the room.

She whispered something to Aaron who nodded and looked over at Jade.

"Get Reid and meet me in Agent Morris's office."

Jade nodded and walked over to Spencer, who had just finished talking to the woman that wouldn't stop going on about her dream.

"Hey. Hotch wants us."

Spencer frowned but stood up. "Why?"

"I don't know. He said to meet him in Agent Morris's office."

The two walked in silence to the office, where Morris and Aaron were waiting. Spencer sat down in the chair and Jade sat on the desk, ignoring Morris's annoyed look.

"We got a call in about a tip," Morris explained.

"You two read the files. You'd know what we're looking for in this." Aaron glanced at Jade, but settled on Spencer. Jade bit her lip.

Aaron pressed play. Audio of a woman's voice played through.

_"Philadelphia Police Department."_

_"I think I saw something,"_ a man said. His voice was deep and gravely. It sent chills down Jade's spine. _"It might have to do with the killings."_

_"What did you see?"_

_"My car broke down on I-76. There was a field off the road. A man was digging a hole."_

_"What kind of hole?"_

_"For the body. I saw it."_ Jade paused on that word. I saw _it_. There was no gender to the body, as if had been stripped from any previous meaning. The body wasn't a girl or a boy now. It was just a thing. _"A bleeder striped of its clothes."_

A bleeder. The same wording that had been used in some of the pages that she had read from the storage unit. Stripped of its clothing - just like it was stripped of an idenity and gender. This person didn't see the body as male or female, or even as someone who had been alive.

_"Can I have your name, sir?"_

_"Mile marker 115 on the eastbound. They'll find it."_

The audio ended.

"Anything strike you?" Morris asked Aaron.

"Stripped of _its_ clothes objectifies the victim." Aaron pointed out.

"Exactly. Dehumanizing." Morris agreed.

Jade was happy to have gotten that bit right - until Morris agreed. She suddenly felt guilty. This man had just delivered the promise of another body, yet Jade was annoyed that Morris and her agreed on something. She would have to work on that.

"This wasn't just any tipster," Morris said.

"It was the killer." Jade commented, looking at Aaron.

"What makes you say that?" Morris questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"The way that he referred to the body as a bleeder. . ." Spencer mused, looking up at Jade.

"Visible trauma to the corpse." Morris said, nodding her head. As if it were some agreement that was easily understood. As if this wasn't someone's dead body. Jade really did not like this woman.

"No, I don't think so." Spencer denied. He looked back at Jade. "I noted usage of the same word in the pages from the storage facility. Jade, what about you?"

"That's one of the reasons I said I thought it was the killer. I mean, I recognized the term, but I also recognized the wording that he used. How he said it. He was completely void of emotion, like he was used to it. He called the body a bleeder and stripped the corpse of its humanity." Jade tried not to bite her lip. She tried to keep her head up and her heart steady. "We thought he let the storage unit be discovered. So, what if he's trying to get credit for _these_ deaths?"

Aaron nodded. "That's definitely something that we have to consider."

"What was the word again?" Morris asked.

"He calls his targets bleeders," Spencer explained. Jade vaguely noted that he talked with his hands.

"Why?" Morris asked. "He doesn't do anything that makes them bleed too much. He uses electricity."

"Because they're females," Jade responded. "We had a guy back in high school call girls bleeders."

"It's misogynistic." Aaron mused. "He's referring to menstruation."

"He'd use it as a weakness." Morris realized.

"I think we need to see what's in that field." Aaron nodded, looking at the computer monitor where the audio had come from.

Aaron got everyone together. "Morgan, Prentiss, I want you two to go to the field. Take Jade."

Jade was shocked to be going out with them, but tried not to let it show. She quickly followed after the two older agents as they walked briskly out of the building and to their car.

"How did they know about this body?" Prentiss asked.

"The killer called it in. Well, it was an angle we should consider. A man called in." Jade messed with her TARDIS necklace.

"When was this?"

"I don't know when the actual call came in. But I heard it a few minutes before Uncle Aaron called all of you in." Jade hesitated, wondering if that made it sound like she only knew because Aaron was her uncle. "Spencer heard, too."

Derek nodded.

The rest of the drive was silent and Jade busied herself with staring out the window. She needed to relax and not be so nervous. She took to daydreaming. She wasn't with Derek and Emily anymore. In the blink of an eye, she was with Sam and Dean Winchester of _Supernatural_. The thought made her smile.

"What're you smiling about back there?" Derek asked.

"I tend to daydream," Jade responded. "It helps."

"Whatever works." Emily said, looking out the window.

Moments later, they were pulling off the highway and into a desert looking area. They all got out of the car and Emily started walking towards the group of crime scene people (Jade couldn't tell who they were from the distance, though she was certain some of them were M.E.s, if they all weren't). Derek stopped her before they got close to the body.

"Are you okay?" he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. "A dead body isn't a light topic."

"I know it's not," Jade told him, looking him dead in the eye. "If I can't handle it, I'll walk back to the car, okay? I promise."

Derek nodded. He followed after Emily and Jade followed after him.

"Morning," a M.E. said as they approached.

"Good morning." Emily responded.

Jade wasn't sure how you could say 'good' morning when you were walking towards a dead body, but there were reasons to be happy. Firstly was that you weren't the dead body.

Emily crouched down beside a hole in the ground. Derek stopped right beside her, but remained standing. Jade stepped forward with determination. And her stomach suddenly became like Dick Grayson on a high flying act. It was doing flips left and right and she wasn't sure she would be okay.

But Derek gave her a sideways glance through his sunglasses and Jade sucked it up. She was not going to be a baby. She was going to get through this, because this was what she wanted to do. She wanted to stop others from becoming like this girl (because the body was definitely a female).

"Body looks well-preserved." Emily noted.

Indeed it did. The body was dirty from having been buried, but it was in amazing condition. It was clothed in only a bra and panties.

"Been some cold snaps the last few months," the M.E. said. "Ground's frozen."

"Check out her stomach," Derek said, crouching down beside the body. He reached out and brushed some dirt off of the stomach of the corpse. At once, Jade saw what he did.

"Electrical burns." Emily noticed, looking at the woman's stomach.

Derek, with a very tender hand, reached out to the corpse's hand. He examined the fingers and stated, "Fingers are in really bad shape. How are her teeth?"

The M.E. leaned forward to check. Pressing two of her fingers to the bottom lip, she pulled it down to reveal incredibly white teeth. This woman had had amazing dental.

"Looks good for an I.D.," the older woman replied, sitting back up.

"To saw we need a rush on that would be an understatement," Derek told her. "You understand?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Thank you." Derek and Emily began to stand, so Jade backed up. But her eyes stayed glued to the corpse. Though it was now an empty vessel, it had once held life. It had once held the life of a girl. Someone's daughter. Someone's friend. Someone's crush. Someone's _something_.

"Let's get her up," the M.E. said.

Derek and Emily began to walk away, so Jade tore her eyes away from the girl.

_We'll catch who did this to you_, she mentally promised.

The three of them had nearly made it to the car when a man shouted out "hey" to get their attention.

When they turned around, a man said, "You guys might want to stick around."

They walked back to the hole in the ground. The body had been moved to the side and, where it had been, a hand poked up from loose soil. Jade wanted to groan and complain. She didn't want multiple dead bodies on her first time. She didn't want this man to have killed more women. She wanted this man to be dead so that he would never be able to hurt another person.

They stayed long enough to confirm that this body - another "bleeder" as the UNSUB liked to call them - was in the same condition of the first and was, indeed, the final body in the area.

The three got into the car and left. Jade's thoughts stayed on the two girls. Their faces were blank. Empty and dead, they held nothing. Not even a glimpse of who they once were.

"Are you okay back there?" Emily asked. "It's a lot to take in."

"I'm fine," Jade responded. "Dead bodies come with the job. It's something that I'll have to learn to understand. But. . . I don't think I'll ever be unaffected."

The two agents were silent. Finally, Derek said, "You're not supposed to be unaffected. Because when you are, then the dead don't mean anything. The job doesn't, either."

Jade nodded. The rest of the drive was silent.


End file.
